The appearance of the Alliance logo excited Qingmu.
He gently stroked the rock, probing it with his Mental Power. He had originally thought that mysterious writing would appear on the stone, recording the history of the Alliance, providing him with some information to help him recover his memories, or that there was a secret passage beneath the stone connecting to another dimension.
But he was disappointed.
Stones are just stones, symbols are just symbols; there are no words, no hidden doors, and no passages to another dimension.
In Qingmu's memory, he had never been to the desert. Yet he clearly felt a sense of familiarity, as if he had been there before.
He tried to recall the events carefully, and then his head started to ache, as if a thousand ants were crawling inside. This pain was connected to his body, and not just a mental simulation. It meant that his subconscious was constantly releasing energy in his brain to search for memories, but his nervous system was warning him not to do this pointless and futile work!
Is this the Awakening Sacred Land that Cuan Yifang spoke of?
From a spatial perspective, this is a dreamlike place, but more realistic than ordinary dreams, somewhat like Real-Scene Dream. However, Qingmu couldn't find a conscious subject in this space. This doesn't make sense; logically, without a conscious subject, there's no spiritual support, so this space should have collapsed long ago.
But this space is so stable! There are only two possibilities for a space to appear so stable despite lacking spiritual support.
One possibility is that it is located in a spatial crevice, surrounded by many more stable spaces, like a beehive.
The second possibility is that it is not just a fictional dream, but something that actually exists. It has a corresponding place in reality, and someone used powerful Mental Power to create a huge, Real-Scene Dream, just like the Zhulong Mountain Cave that Qingmu encountered in Southern Yunnan.
But this desert is clearly much, much larger than that cave.
Qingmu remembered Kitano Masatake. In that cave, Kitano left the Alliance's symbol, and later Duwa confirmed that Kitano was a member of the Awakeners' Alliance. The Alliance should not have Kitano alone mastering this method of creating Real-Scene Group Dream; this desert might have been created by a master, or a group of masters working together.
Compared to the two guesses, Qingmu leans more towards the latter. Of course, it's also possible that both exist simultaneously, meaning it's a Real-Scene Dream space that's also situated in the gap between other spaces.
If so, then he is likely currently located in a desert on Earth, and also on the edge of some other mysterious cosmic space.
It seems that to unravel the mystery of this " Holy Land," we need to find the corresponding place in reality.
But there are so many deserts on Earth, and each one has a similar terrain. So where does this correspond to? The Sahara? The Taklamakan? Or the Arabia?
Qingmu thought to himself, "I should go back and brush up on my geography."
He observed the surrounding terrain, noting the locations of large sand dunes and exposed rocks, wondering if he could find them back home. It was a pity he couldn't take photos in his consciousness space; otherwise, an expert would have known immediately.
Although he was certain that this was the Holy Land Cuan Yifang had mentioned, Qingmu had no idea what this space truly meant. After all, transitioning between different spaces could cause changes in spacetime. Fortunately, this space seemed to correspond to the three-dimensional reality and was connected by Dream Corridor, so it shouldn't be out of sync with his real world in terms of time.
But he dared not linger, for who knew what might happen on his way back if he stayed too long?
With a thought, an hourglass-like object appeared before him. As he channeled his Mental Power into it, the hourglass began to spin rapidly, quickly forming a black hole, like a dark door.
This time, I was much more skilled than before. I estimate that next time, I can make the corridor appear with just a thought.
He entered the room, and the deep, long corridor appeared before him once again.
Did the Old Madam Cuan refer to this corridor as the key she spoke of, or was it hidden in the desert at the end of the corridor?
If it's the former, then the desert can be confirmed as the Awakening Sacred Land. If it's the latter, then the Holy Land is elsewhere.
The Parasitic Consciousness that invaded Mama Yao, an ordinary person, was probably after this Dream Corridor, or the desert at the end of the corridor.
But how did they know the "key" was in Mama Yao's brain?
Qingmu found the situation increasingly complicated, so he simply ignored it. With another thought, he walked out of the Dream Corridor. This time, he didn't return to the place where he met Cuan Yifang; clearly, that space had collapsed. But Mama Yao's dream was still there, so he returned to the place where the Crow and the white cat were.
The Crow and the white cat were no longer locked in a tense standoff. Both had withdrawn their Mental Power, probably because the place the white cat was guarding no longer existed.
The cat stood there, meowing mournfully at the void, its sapphire-blue eyes filled with boundless sorrow.
The Crow comforted him, "Hey, don't be sad. Losing your home isn't the end of the world. You can stay at my place for a while. You know, our place is nice. There's a bar downstairs, it's lively every day. You can sing, drink, chat, and pick up girls... uh... I'm not talking about me, I have no interest in picking up girls! None of those women are as fair-skinned as you..."
When the cat saw Qingmu come out, it cried even louder, and there was even a hint of resentment in its eyes.
Qingmu communicated with the cat using his Mental Power, and the cat lowered its head.
The Crow stroked the cat's back with its wing and said to Qingmu, "Oh, you're back. I was just about to tell you that her name has been chosen. It's Ruxue. Yes, Ruxue, what do you think of this name? Isn't it beautiful! My goodness, how Guagua I am! We can't call her Xiaobai, that's too common. There are many ways to express whiteness, like flour or lime, but that metaphor isn't good enough. I thought of snow, winter snow, oh, it's so beautiful, so fitting! Ruxue, you think it's a good name too, right?"
This time, the cat didn't roll her eyes, seemingly accepting the name. But Qingmu knew that the reason she didn't object was because she probably already had this name.
"You're so smart," Qingmu praised. "How about we outsource the naming to you for our studio from now on?"
The Crow proudly raised its head, then suddenly realized something and said, "Ahem... well, you'd better handle this kind of business. You know a genius like me would never stoop to such a lowly position for a pittance. My name was chosen with great feeling, precisely because..."
He glanced at the white cat beside him, "It's precisely because I have love in my heart that I was able to come up with such a beautiful name. If you don't have love in your heart, you can't come up with a beautiful name. Ruxue — Ruxue —listen, when I call this name, every utterance is filled with love..."
This time, the cat rolled its eyes again.